Skipper Stephen Wilkins: "You've got to have a laugh along the way"

He has eagle eyes. Nothing and no-one escapes his attention. It means that Spirit of Hong Kong has been getting more love and attention over the past seven days than your average newborn babe.

Luckily his passion for sailing is infectious and the crew has been working flat out to make sure that Spirit of Hong Kong is ready in time.

Over the last week we've been up from dawn till dusk sewing sails, packing food supplies, tensioning the rigging and honing our sailing tactics.

Mountainous waves, gale force winds, the tensions of being cooped up in a metal shell with zero privacy

But what kind of person is it that pays a �25,000 berth fee to undertake this sort of challenge?

I'm just doing the first leg of the race but my crewmates are giving up good careers, emptying their bank accounts, leaving their partners, kids, friends and grandchildren for 10 months.

In return for the exhilaration of ocean sailing, they are going to spend weeks on end in hellish conditions. Mountainous waves, gale force winds, the tensions of being cooped up in a metal shell with zero privacy.

A few people might call them insane, but having spent the last week with them I know different.

Port fever

We're a bit like the United Nations on Spirit of Hong Kong. Vincent comes from France, Paul from the US, Mario's a Canadian living in Germany, Adrienne comes from Ireland, Richard lives in New Zealand, Bjorn's Norwegian and the rest of us come from all over the UK.

Hilary Bowden at the helm

Before the sailing bug nabbed them, they were postal workers, doctors, bond traders, IT experts, housewives, lecturers and civil engineers. Scottish Chas worked in an abbatoir.

They all share a killer sense of humour, a strong competitive streak and they start getting "port fever" if they stay away from the sea for too long.

They know every nook and cranny of the boat and they look after it like anxious parents.

I've drunk half a swimming pool with them during sea survival training, run like chickens being chased by juggernauts during fast tacks and taken part in some intensive teambuilding exercises.

Dreaming the dream

Everyone is looking forward to the start of the race but it's going to be an emotional time for a lot of the crew.

Dave Pinkney, 36, a civil engineer from Doncaster, met his wife Michelle when they were only 13. They have three young children: Natasha, 8, Christian, 6, and Kieran, 2.

He said: "This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

"What do you say to a six-year-old who asks why daddy is going away?"

"It's going to be very tough to leave them."

But the thirst for adventure is a difficult one to ignore.

On a map in our galley someone has scribbled the words: "Dream the dream, then do it!!"

I suspect the next three weeks ain't going to be plain sailing but watch out Boston, here we come.

The BT Global Challenge begins on 10 September. BBC News Online's Hilary Bowden will be filing regular reports from on board the yacht Spirit of Hong Kong.